I have just read cobaltcupcake's blog which has brough back so many memories, but here is a brief (edited to say well, maybe not quite so brief ) summary of my experience of pioneering - the best job in the world.
Well, as I entered my teenage years my plans and expectations for the future were as far as you could get from how they turned out to be. I had a grammar school education with prospects of university ahead of me and two parents who were determined to ensure I made the best of my opportunities and ended up with a good, fulfilling career.
During the middle of my teenage years a JW started working at the same company as my father. Within 6 months, our entire family were attending meetings, going out in service and studying for baptism. Things were done very quickly in those days as armageddon was soooooo close!
By the end of my teenage years all thoughts of a glittering career had long since gone. It was the late 1960s and all young people were obliged to pioneer whether they wanted to or not, otherwise they would not get through armageddon. My mother put so much pressure on me that I gave in and did it. Anything for a quiet life. I was a full time pioneer (100 hours a month in those days), doing a part time cleaning job, feet often so covered in blisters that every step was painful (I couldn't afford driving lessons let alone a car) but I had to keep going. Despite the powers that be saying that you should only work in twos, I often had no choice but to work alone in order to get my hours in, if nobody was available to come out and work with me. Some of the houses I called on as a teenage girl were quite dodgy to say the least and it is a wonder I survived unscathed. I was invited in by alcoholics, men showing an unusual interest in discussing religion, and many other dodgy situations that would make your hair stand on end. Fortunately I had enough common sense to turn down most offers to go inside the house and made a hasty retreat saying I would return with a man to talk to them. They amazingly lost interest at that point.
My parents were not worried about all these dangers as "the angels are looking after you".
As a direct result of long hours out in all weathers followed by evenings spent in overheated kingdom halls full of people with coughs and colds, I developed chronic bronchitis and asthma. "Never mind", my parents would say, "in the New System (which is coming sooooon) you will be able to fulfill your ambitions and your bronchial problems will have gone because we will all be perfect!!!" Don't worry that you are pennyless with barely enough money to afford the obligatory tights all sisters must wear to the meetings. I was even told off by a fellow pioneer for having a savings account! I only had a few pounds in it for extreme emergencies, but it was showing a lack of faith to even have THAT!
I am now in my 60s living off a basic state pension and thinking of all those lost opportunities.
Yes, keep on pioneering - it is the best job in the world!!
